Lister, Joseph, Baron, 1827-1912.
[Letter] [18]72 June 5, Edinburgh [to] Mrs. Barker / Joseph Lister.
Lister relates that he has long been expecting Barker's letter and think often of Mr. Barker while considering whether the operation can be successfully performed on the eyes. In the meantime he advises her that it is "the wisest thing to be content with the present state of things, and continue to use the plaster." If they are in Edinburgh in six months, Lister states that he should like the opportunity of seeing him again for a "trifling operation which will do a good deal for him, especially as regards appearance." He assures her that she has not given him offense, and thanks her for calling his attention to those things which "transcend in importance all merely earthly matters." At the time this letter was written, Lister had been appointed to the post of professor of clinical surgery at Edinburgh where he remained until 1877. Lister is remembered as a pioneer of antiseptic surgery, a concept he announced in the Lancet journal in 1867. He was also a proponent of scientific naturalism as touted by Huxley and Tyndall.

Locker Lampson, Godfrey, b. 1875.
[Letter] 1898 June 18, Pall Mall [to] Lord [Roseberry?] / Godfrey Locker Lampson.
Lampson tells his Lordship that a friend suggested recently that his Lordship, as a "bibliophile in the best sense of the term," might be interested in seeing the printed catalogue of Lampson's father's collection, Rowfant Library. Lampson plans to print an appendix for the most recent 300 books acquired by his father which are as rare if not rarer and equally interesting. Lampson hopes that the catalogue will find a place on his Lordship's shelves.

Maxim, Hudson, 1853-1927.
[Letter] 1912 March 21 [to] Mrs. Royer / Hudson Maxim.
Maxim responds to Royer's letter and request for his biography. With flippant humor, he declares that he is often mistakenly introduced as his brother, Sir Hiram Maxim or his nephew Hiram Percy Maxim, the inventor of the gun silencer; however, he declares, "I am not Sir Hiram Maxim, I never was Sir Hiram Maxim, I never expect to be Sir Hiram Maxim, and I never want to be Sir Hiram Maxim." He further states that he has made ten dollars to every one dollar that Hiram has made from his inventions. Maxim ends by suggesting, "Those who have heard of me will know who I am and those who have not will imagine that I am somebody anyhow, or I would not be there talking to them." An innovator and manufacturer of explosives used extensively in World War I, Maxim invented the first smokeless powder adopted by the U.S. government, a delayed-action detonating fuse, and high explosive bursting powder used in torpedo warfare. He also wrote Defenseless America [c. 1915] and The Science of Poetry and the Philosophy of Language.

McClellan, George Brinton, 1826-1885.
[Handbill] 1862 September 27, Sharpsburg [to] A.G. Curtin, Pennsylvania / General Geo[rge].B. M'[c]Clellan.
The handbill is a reprint of a personal letter from McClellan to Curtin thanking him for his "wise and energetic action in calling out the militia of Pennsylvania." McClellan began his military career as an engineer at West Point, served under General Scott in the Mexican War, taught at West Point, studied European warfare, and conducted surveying and exploration missions in the West, briefly serving as President of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad before the Civil War. At the outbreak of war the governors of New York and Pennsylvania sought his service; en route to discuss the offer with Governor Curtin (PA), McClellan was offered a position as major-general by Governor Dennison of Ohio which he accepted in 1861. McClellan went on to become general of the Union armies, but after differences with the Washington administration, Lincoln (whose letters are represented in the collection) put McClellan in charge of the defenses of Washington; after Antietam, McClellan was removed from active command. In 1864 he ran unsuccessfully for the presidency, later becoming the Governor of New Jersey (1878-1881). He published his memoirs, McClellan's Own Story (1887) and was remembered as a formidable adversary by Lee (whose letters are also represented in the collection). Curtin, the subject of this handbill, served as Governor of Pennsylvania (1861-67), gaining key support for Lincoln in that state; he later served three terms in Congress (1880-1887) and was appointed minister to Russia by President Grant (whose letters are also in the collection).

McClellan, George Brinton, 1826-1885.
[Handbill] 1863 October 12, Orange, NJ [to] Chas. J. Biddle / Geo[rge]. B. McClellan.
McClellan denies that he has written a pro-Curtin letter in the Philadelphia Press; further, he states that after a conversation with Judge Woodward, McClellan supports his election as governor of Pennsylvania in "the interests of the Nation." Despite McClellan's endorsement, Curtin won the election and Woodward went on to serve in the House of Representatives (1867-71). McClellan began his military career as an engineer at West Point, served under General Scott in the Mexican War, taught at West Point, studied European warfare, and conducted surveying and exploration missions in the West, briefly serving as President of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad before the Civil War. At the outbreak of war the governors of New York and Pennsylvania sought his service; en route to discuss the offer with Governor Curtin (PA), McClellan was offered a position as major-general by Governor Dennison of Ohio which he accepted in 1861. McClellan went on to become general of the Union armies, but after differences with the Washington administration, Lincoln (whose letters are represented in the collection) put McClellan in charge of the defenses of Washington; after Antietam, McClellan was removed from active command. In 1864 he ran unsuccessfully for the presidency, later becoming the Governor of New Jersey (1878-1881). He published his memoirs, McClellan's Own Story (1887) and was remembered as a formidable adversary by Lee (whose letters are also represented in the collection). Curtin, the subject of this handbill, served as Governor of Pennsylvania (1861-67), gaining key support for Lincoln in that state; he later served three terms in Congress (1880-1887) and was appointed minister to Russia by President Grant (whose letters are also in the collection). Biddle, to whom the letter is addressed, served in the military in the Mexican and Civil Wars and filled a vacant seat in the House of Representatives (1861-1863), serving also as chair of the Democratic State central committee in 1863, the year this letter was written.